EDUCATOR
New York, USA
Community-Based Civic Design Education
EDUCATOR
New York, USA
Community-Based Civic Design Education
Project Team
Professor Farzana Gandhi
AIA LEED AP and Students: Jimi Adeseun
Eryn Cooper
Stefan Eitnier
Sivapriya Janakiraman
Robert Nafie
Liana Martinez
Eleni Papaiacovou
Ethan Steinberg
Jordan Sarmiento
Luke Stefanchik
Kelly Zheng
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Collective City reframes architectural education as a tool for civic action, training students to address climate, health, and equity through participatory engagement, multi-scalar research, systems-oriented design, and implementation-driven proposals in vulnerable contexts.
Overview
Collective City is an undergraduate thesis research studio at NYIT that positions architecture as a tool for inclusive and regenerative urbanism in communities facing climate, health, and equity challenges. The studio advances a civic-design education model grounded in five core principles: environmental justice context, community partnerships, multi-scalar design research, multidisciplinary collaboration, and actionable outcomes. Students work with residents, community organizations, and public agencies in underserved NYC neighborhoods to co-produce implementation-oriented proposals addressing water, energy, waste, mobility, housing, and public health. Projects operate across infrastructure, building, and neighborhood scales. Students are trained for real-world complexities and collaboration to support resilient urban futures.
Institution
New York Institute of Technology
School of Architecture and Design
Community Organization
Local residents, community-based organizations, New York City public agencies, academic collaborators, and environmental and public health experts. — New York, USA
Community Engagement
Community engagement is foundational, not supplemental. Students conduct interviews, surveys, walking tours, and workshops with local stakeholders, ensuring design interventions are rooted in place and driven by community agency, with resulting impact demonstrating the transformative potential of this education model.
Partners
Local residents, community-based organizations, New York City public agencies, academic collaborators, and environmental and public health experts.
